The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1887-04-23
NUMBER 8.
Women Voters in Kansas.
New York Sun.

New York Sun.
The municipal elections in Kansas
Tuesday were usually interesting,
because for the first time women
voted at them.
So far as the number of votes cast
by women was concerned, the exper-
iment seems to have worked success
fully. In twenty.six towns 12,500
women had registered, and in Lev
enworth and Lawrence, where the
contests were most exciting, they
were greatly agitated over the ISSUES
involved, or which they imagined to
be involved, in the election of mu-
nicipal officers, so tnat In Levenworth
out of total registration of about T.
600, there were 2,673 women, while
in Lawrence one-half of the registra-
tion was Of women. But at Atchi
son, one OF the largest towns Of the
State, only 1886 women were register
ed, nearly One-third of whom were
colored, the disposition to take adj
vantage of their new privilege being
everywhere more general among the
colOred than the white women.
The Introduction of women to the
ballot does not, however, seem to
have the expected result of purifying
the election methods, at least in such
contests as those of LeavenWorth and
Lawrence, In the papers of Leaven.
worth representing the different par
ties charges of corruption were freely
exchanged before the election and
even women were accused of lying
and bribery. The Leavenworth
Times asserted that the names had
been obtained of 1.-TWO prominent
women who have offered money to
colored women to vote for Neeley,"
the Democratic candidate for Mayor.
The Leavenworth correspondent of
the Kansas City Times declared, en-
the other hand. that Mrs. Helen NJ,
Cougar, whom he called "an Indiana
Importation" had been spreading
wicked ISLANDERS against the fair
fame of LeaYenworth's daughters"
The specific allegation was that Mrs.
Cougar, WOman-suffrage advocate
had made the extraordinary state
ment that the upper stratum of social
life in Leavenworth was frightfully
licentious, owing to the presence Of
the military post at Fort Leaveworth
with its large number of army Off
GERS"
OF course, the women were chiefly
interested in the temperance question
and the question of the social evil.
At LeavenWOrth their Election Com
mittee issued an addres to their
"dear sisters" in which, after saying
that "as women, we will leave the
discussion of financial affairs to men
voters" they proceed to attack the
"Open saloons, with their attendant
evils, and the licensed brothels that
are and have been permitted by our
City Administrations" At a meet
ing of 800 women, held in the Con-
gregational church of the town. Mrs.
Cougar presented the report of
committee of ladies who had visited
the disreputable houses, and accom-
panied it with a series of resolutions
as to the abatement of the social evil.
The resolutions, which were unani.
mously adopted. demand that all wo-
men "Who persist in their evil course
shall be promptly arrested and fined.
not to exceed 81 a day for ten days,
with the privilege of leaving the city
within the time" In the event of
their refusal to go they are to be sent
up in the county Jail "for term suf-
ficient to Offset the fine" The arrest
and heavy fine of men frequenting
disreputable houses are demanded'
and the publication in the daily pa
pers of the city of the "full and prop
er names of all such men,"
Yet it seems that by the aid of the
women the Republican candidate
for Mayor of Lawrence was elected
by the largest majority ever given to
a Mayor of the town, although alle-
cations of immortality had been made
against him. In general, the intro
duction of women voters has been to
increase the Republican vote, but
otherwise it does not appear to have
produced any considerable change.
The meanest man lives in West
Castleton. AT the beginning of Feb
ruary he made wager with his
wife that she couldn't drink a quart
of milk alone for thirty days in Feb
ruary. If she did he was to give
her a new silk dress if she failed she
was to buy him new suit of clothes.